


A Pretty Good Bad Idea

by LostInStardust



Series: Stories in the Dreaded Homecoming Universe [2]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Bisexual Jeremy Heere, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Rich Goranski, Bullying, F/F, F/M, Gay Michael Mell, Harassment, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Jenna's like a sister to Jeremy, Lesbian Chloe Valentine, M/M, Michael has two moms, Trans Jeremy Heere, cheating (sort of), everyone loves pinkberry cuz they're the school's new power couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-27 05:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13874094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostInStardust/pseuds/LostInStardust
Summary: After coming out at homecoming everything was supposed to be fine right? Obviously because the most popular kids in school also came out. Well not actually. Jake didn't really know what he was doing when he was kissing Rich and no one ever found out. The school loves Brooke and Chloe together because they see it as feminist thing. So what is a poor Jeremy's Heere to do when he realizes the world may not be as accepting as he thought it was.Direct Sequel to The Dread Homecoming (story begins the Monday after homecoming)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so excited to be started a new story! I'm putting Little and Broken But Still Good On Hiatus for lack of ideas at the moment. This story is going to mainly be our favorite group of struggling NJ teens (mainly Jeremy but small things about the others) battling cruel and homophobic high school students. 
> 
> Allusion to the F slur in the story, but it is censored with **

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Michael’s hand slammed down on his obnoxiously loud retro alarm clock from the 80s. He groaned as he pulled himself out of bed and checked the time. 6:30. He had to leave his house at 6:50 to get to Jeremy’s by 7:00, so he had twenty minutes to get ready. He pulled himself out of bed, sleepily running his hand through his hair as he made his way over to his closet. He pulled on a pair of baggy black jeans, a Zelda t-shirt, and his red hoodie. He grabbed his garish sneakers and sat on his bed to pull them on and lace them up. He heard his phone go and off and reached for it. 

Player2: good morning!! 

Player1: good morning to you too, boo ;)

Player2: never call me “boo” again :/

Player1: noted, i will now only refer to you as boo, preferably my boo

Player2: ew 

Player1: love you too

Player2: see u at 7 

Player1: [ok hand sign emoji]

Michael smiled as he pocketed his phone and walked into the bathroom. He brushed through his tangly hair. After five minutes of trying to tame it he shrugged, grabbing his toothbrush, and brushing his teeth. He checked the time again. 6:45. He had 5 minutes before he had to head over to Jere’s, but decided to leave a little bit early. He grabbed his keys and swung them around his finger before jumping into his car (literally) and heading over to his boyfriend’s house. 

After a shorter than expected drive spent listening to Bob Marley, he pulled into Jeremy’s driveway. He checked the time on his phone once more and saw that it was only 6:53. He got heere (pun intended) much earlier than expected, but since he was basically family he decided to head inside the house despite this. He marched up the front porch steps and knocked on the door. He was greeted by Jeremy’s dad (who was luckily wearing pants) with a smile. “Come on in Michael, Jeremy’s just finishing getting dressed.” Michael walked into the house and sat on the couch and pulled out his phone. With one hand he scrolled, and he tapped out drums beats on his leg with the other. Five minutes later a frantic looking Jeremy bursted out of his bedroom. 

“Dad, have you seen my cardigan? I can’t find it anywhere.” Mr. Heere was about to answer when he was interrupted by Michael. 

“You left it at my place. I was meaning to bring it over but I must’ve forgotten. I knew I was forgetting something. You can wear my sweatshirt if you’re cold.” 

Jeremy jumped at his voice and looked into the living room to see Michael sitting on the couch. Michael shot him a smile before pulling his sweatshirt over his head. Jeremy flushed when he pulled up his shirt with his hoodie and revealed part of his stomach. Michael fixed his shirt and walked over to Jeremy, slipping his sweatshirt onto the smaller boy. They stood like that for what felt like hours. Michaels arms still placed on Jeremy’s hips, and looking into his eyes. Mr. Heere cleared his throat and the two jumped apart quickly, both walking to grab their bags so they could get to school without being late. 

Jeremy ran up to his dad and gave him a hug. “Bye Dad, see you tonight! I have rehearsal ‘til five, but Chrissy said she’ll give me a ride home.”

Mr. Heere hugged his son back. “Alright I’ll have dinner ready when you get home. Now go to school or you’ll be late.” 

The boys walked out the front door and into Michael’s car, beginning the short ride to school.

\----  
Once they arrived Jeremy felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach. He quickly took off Michael’s sweatshirt and handed it back to him.

“Jer, I’m not cold take this or you’ll freeze to death. You’re only wearing a thin t-shirt.” Michael was right. He was only wearing a thin pastel blue t-shirt, but he couldn’t be seen in Michael’s sweatshirt. 

“I’m fine Michael, it’s not cold out.”

“It’s October 23rd, Jere-bear, its pretty damn cold.”

“I told you I’m fine.” Jeremy snapped. “And don’t call me that stupid name.”

“Hey, woah, what’s with the attitude? And you love it when I call you Jere-Bear. What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing, let’s just go in.” Jeremy sighed stepping out of the car, and feeling the freezing air surround him. He felt himself begin the shiver and he instinctively brought his hands up to rub his arms. Michael walked up behind him and draped his sweatshirt over the pale boy’s shaking shoulders. Jeremy shrugged it off and walked faster so that he could get away from Michael.

“Are you trying to run away from me? Tell me what’s wrong, you’re worrying me.” Michael’s looked at Jeremy with concern but Jeremy just sent him a icy glare.

“Just do me a favor and get away from me!” Jeremy yelled, pushing Michael and feeling his eyes well up with tears and he ran into the school. 

He pushed his way through a sea of teenagers, and quickly walked up to his locker. He turned the dial and put in his combination. As he pulled the locker open, he saw note at the top. He let out a shuddering breath as he reached for it and unfolded it. It read: KYS F** in blocky capital letters. Jeremy felt his eyes well up with tears again as he tore up the note, grabbed his books, and slammed his locker. Not looking where he was going, he ran full force into Jenna. 

“Hey, watch it- Oh, Jeremy-oh shit are you ok?” Jenna grabbed the smaller boy’s arms and dragged him into the janitor’s closet.

Jeremy buried his face and his hands, letting out broken sobs and Jenna tried to calm him down. “Hey, Jeremy, just breathe, its ok. Let me call Michael, he’ll know what to do.”

“No!” Jeremy screeched, grabbing for Jenna phone. She quickly held it up the air, out of his reach and shot him an odd glare.

“Are you crying because of Michael? Did something happen.”

Jeremy had to make a rash decision. Tell Jenna about what’s been happening or lie and say it's all about the fight with Michael that morning.

“Y-yeah, it is. We had a b-bad fight t-this mm-morn-morning on the way to sc-school, and I just…” Jeremy’s voice trailed off his he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist in an effort to ground himself. 

“Hey, it’s ok Jeremy, all couples fight. It’s completely normal.” Jenna grabbed the lanky teen and pulled him gently into her arms. She rubbed small circles into his back and offered him all the comfort she could. She never really knew why, but after the play she felt this strong older sister feeling when she was around Jeremy. She felt like he was her little brother, and that she had to protect and help him at all costs. This led to them having a fairly close relationship, and they were certainly very good friends. 

After about 7 minutes and 42 seconds, (Jeremy counted to help calm himself down), Jeremy felt ok enough to go back into the hallway. He thanked and hugged Jenna numerous times, and told her he’d see her at rehearsal after school. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, hurrying to his first period class which he was now five minutes later to. And the only class he shared with Michael. Shit.


	2. Chapter 2

Jeremy stepped into his AP Literature class as quietly as he could. Since announcements were playing, none of the students were really paying attention. His teacher shot him a look and gestured for him to come over. She was about to scold him for being late, before she saw his bloodshot and puffy eyes. She sighed sympathetically. "Just try to get to class on time, Jeremiah. I'll let you off with a warning but there will be consequences next time." She warned.

"Of course Ms. Heller, thank you so much." He said, giving her a small smile before heading over to his seat. Right next to Michael.

He cautiously made his way over and sat down, terrified of what Michael would say. But all Michael did was gently place his hand on Jeremy's thigh under the table, rubbing small comforting circles. He looked up and locked eyes with Jeremy, mouthing the words, "Are you okay?"

Jeremy shrugged as looked down at his notebook. He tore off a small piece of paper and wrote the words "I'm sorry" in his best handwriting. He placed it in his boyfriend's hand and hoped he would forgive him for being such a dick that morning.

Jeremy saw Michael study the note carefully, before squeezing his thigh extra hard and leaning in to give him a small kiss on the cheek. Jeremy blushed horrendously and quickly looked around to make sure no one saw, and thankfully no one did. As Michael was about to pass him a response, announcements ended and class began. Jeremy quickly grabbed Michael's hand, moving it from where it rested on his thigh, and opened his copy of The Great Gatsby, ready to start the class.

Time skip to lunch

Jeremy sighed as he walked into the lunch room. He hates Mondays with a passion for two reasons: One is was Monday and who actually enjoys Mondays? And two, Michael had academic decathlon on Mondays during lunch, so he couldn't even sit with his Mikey.

He scanned the room for a familiar face and quickly spotted Christine and Jenna at a table in the corner. He made a beeline for the table while continuing to scan the lunchroom for the THAT person. But no one was paying attention. Whoever his bully was must not be in lunch today. He didn't give it much thought before taking his usual seat next to Jenna.

"Hey Jer! How are you doing?" She shot him a bright and comforting smile, silently asking him to talk about that morning.

"Oh, I'm good. I feel much better and I apologized to Michael."

"What happened with Michael?" Christine questioned.

"We just had a tiny fight this morning no big deal. Jenna found me upset and calmed me done."

"Good thing I got to you when I did, you were kind of a hot mess." She giggled.

Jeremy scoffed and playfully pushed her. He grabbed his lunch bag and opened up his sandwich, when he saw that Jenna wasn't eating. He gave her a sharp look and pushed half his sandwich toward her. She sighed before picking it up and eating it.

"So, who's excited for rehearsal!" Christine beamed. This year they were putting on the Wizard of Oz, and all three were very excited. Christine was cast and Dorothy, Jenna as the Wicked With, and Jeremy as the Tinman.

"I'm stoked! It's makeup night!" Jenna was beyond excited to get her witch makeup done.

Jeremy laughed and said, "Yeah, can't wait to get my entire face painted silver."

"Oh shut up, it's going to be great!"

Time skip to after practice because I can't write consistently

Jeremy pulled open the passenger door of Christine's car and slid in, throwing his backpack in the back seat. He pulled down the small mirror above the dashboard and groaned. He still had silver paint everywhere. Christine giggled as she put the key in the ignition and drove away from the school. "You know Jere, I think silver is your color!"

"Oh, fuck off!" Jeremy cried out, reaching for one of Christine's makeup wipes to rub at his face more harshly.

"You're going to damage your skin if you rub like that! You have to be gentle." Christine chided.

"Whatever." Jeremy sighed putting the wipe in the small trash can Christine kept in her car.

"You seem kind of off today, are you sure you're all right?" Christine had noticed Jeremy acting in an odd fashion all day. He wasn't his normal happy, funny self, and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't worrying her.

"Yeah I'm just...hormonal." Jeremy cringed at how stupid that sounded, but really hoped Christine would buy it.

"Nice try, you were on it two weeks ago. I want the truth and I can tell when you lie." She sent him a mock glare, followed by a comforting and somewhat eager smile.

"Fine, I've just had a rough few weeks. After everything with homecoming and coming out and all that, my dad announced that he had a new girlfriend. And now my mo- I mean Jennifer, keeps trying to get me to spend Thanksgiving with her and I really don't want to, and this morning I had a fight with Michael, and it's just a lot to take in and it's so hard to deal with and..." Jeremy could feel his face getting wet with tears.

"Oh crap, I didn't mean to make you cry Jer, I was just worried about you! Do you want to talk about it?"

Jeremy let out a tiny sigh. He was glad Christine was trying and reaching out to him but he was planning on talking to Michael, who was there when all of this took place. "Actually, I was going to call Michael when I got home." He flushed, silently praying that she wouldn't take offense.

"No biggie, I totally get that it's easier to talk to your boyfriend, I mean you've known him for what? 12, 13 years?"

"13"

"Yeah, so duh you'd want to talk to him. I just wanted to make sure you had someone to talk to that's all." She sent him one of her motherly smiles and she pulled up to his house. "See you tomorrow!"

"Bye Chrissy!" He yelled back.

God, he thought, today was absolutely exhausting. All he wanted to do was grab ice cream from the fridge, take off his binder, put on his comfiest pair of sweats, and vent to Michael on the phone. As he stepped into the house, all those plans were shattered.

"Oh, hello Jeremy! Claire, this is my son, Jeremy." Mr. Heere practically sang, like this wasn't a completely inappropriate and surprising way to introduce your son to your girlfriend.

"Hello, Jeremy!" Claire shot him a bright smile. Jeremy looked at her carefully, still in a state of shock. She had long blonde hair that seemed to go to the small of her back, and dark chocolate eyes. She looked tired, but not old. Probably mid to late thirties, way younger than his dad who was in his late forties. She seemed like a nice woman but Jeremy still couldn't believe this was happening. He looked at his dad, who gave him an encouraging smile, before returning her greeting carefully.

"Hi, um, Claire? I'm Jeremy, but I guess you already knew that." He cringed at how awkward he sounded, but who could blame him? His dad just brought his girlfriend home without telling him first dammit!

She giggled. "Well, Jeremy, your father and I were talking and we'd like to get both of our families together for a little outing. I have two small kids, a six year old girl and a ten year old boy, who I'm sure would love to meet you!"

"Yeah, sure, sounds like fun."

"Awesome! Can't wait! Well I better be going! See y'all later." She kissed his dad and gave him a friendly wave before heading out the door.   
  
As soon as she closed the door Jeremy glared at his dad.

"What the actual hell was that?" Jeremy screamed.

"Watch your tone! That was my girlfriend and I really like her so I hope you can learn to like her too!"

"Wanting me to like her doesn't mean you have to bring her over without telling me first! What were you thinking?"

"You will not use that tone with me! I thought you were happy for me! I was nothing but accepting of you and Michael! Go to your room until you can fix your attitude young man."

"UGH, you're the worst!" Jeremy cried stomping to his room and slamming the door like a small child. He felt his eyes well up with tears and he pulled of his shirt and his binder throwing them in the hamper across his room. He tugged on a sports bra and Michael's hoodie. He slipped out of his skinny jeans and tossed them into the pile with his shirt and binder. He grabbed his phone to check for a message from Michael, but the only message he had was from an unknown number.

You're just a dumbass who can't do anything without his boyfriend. You're so completely helpless and disgusting. Do us all a favor and end it.

Jeremy felt himself begin to cry again as he threw his phone across the room and buried his face in his pillow, sobbing his poor little heart out after an absolutely, god awful day.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I headcanon that the reason Jeremy is so skinny is because he's a really picky eater.

Mr. Heere sighed as he heard his son's sobs resonating from the other room. He probably should've told Jeremy that he invited Claire over before he just went ahead and did so, but he had been blinded by the prospect of them being a happy family again, unable to see the damage it might cause to his son. He felt like his heart was being torn out of chest when he heard his son's sobs grow louder and more erratic. He decided he should go into Jeremy's room and see what was wrong. There was no way their small argument could have triggered this response.

He pushed open his son's door and was greeted by a pitiful sight. His son was hugging the super Mario Build-A-Bear he made with Michael on one of their dates, as wails and cries wracked his small frame. Mr. Heere sat on the side of his son's bed and pulled him into a tight hug. Jeremy turned his head and sobbed into his dad's chest, completely forgetting about their fight and just focusing on how safe he felt in his father's arms.

It took Jeremy about a half an hour to calm down. When he did his father began to ask him questions. And Jeremy gave him small one word answers.

"Is everything ok at school?"

"Yes."

"Did something happen at rehearsal?"

"No."

"Is it your time of the-"

"No!" Jeremy quickly cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "I've just had a rough couple of weeks and you randomly inviting over your first real girlfriend since....just kind of sent me over the edge."

"I'm so sorry, sport, I didn't think it would cause you this much trouble, I wasn't thinking when I invited her over."

"Jennifer emailed me." Jeremy deadpanned.

"Oh." Mr. Heere became emotionless for a second before sighing. "What does she want?"

"She wants me to spend thanksgiving her and her new fiancée and his kids."

"Do you want to go?"

"No...I mean...I don't know. I don't really want to see her and her new kids. Just listen to the sick email she sent me." Jeremy grabbed his phone from his bedside table and opened up his mail app. He went to his starred messages and opened up the email from his mother. He began to read it aloud to his father.

Dear Jeremy (are people still calling you that?)

I would like to invite you to spend thanksgiving in my beautiful beach house in LBI, with my handsome new fiancé and his two beautiful kids. (One of them is a boy! I finally have a real son!) please email me back ASAP to reserve your spot at the dinner table. A plus one is allowed.

Love,  
Mommy

Jeremy locked eyes with his father after reading the email. His face was read with anger.

"Is she serious? First of all, yes people still call you Jeremy because you were diagnosed by a trained professional with gender dysphoria, second of all you are her real son, despite her barely being your mother, and third why did she treat this like a formal invitation to an event! You're her son not some random guest!"

Jeremy sat in awe. His dad just said aloud everything that he was thinking in his mind. "I know right! Why would she do this? I kind of want to bring Michael just to rub it in her face like, 'Hey I'm proud of my gender and sexual identity, fuck you-"

"Language!" His dad interjected.

"Right sorry, but anyway, I just don't know how to feel about it. Like there are so many other things going on right now, and my life is just insane."

"I think you should come eat some dinner, get a good nights sleep, go to school tomorrow, and then come home and talk to me about everything and we can sort this out together."

"Ok, I don't have rehearsal tomorrow so that's good."

"Speaking of rehearsal, you still have silver on your right ear."

"UGH!" Jeremy whined walking up to his mirror and grabbing the makeup wipes he owned just for drama club, and vigorously rubbed his ear.

"Alright son, you can take a shower later, come eat."

"What's for dinner?" Jeremy questioned.

"I made steaks for Claire and I, but I know you hate steak so there's a bowl of plain pasta on the counter for you."

"Thanks dad!" Jeremy walked into the kitchen and grabbed his pasta from the counter.

He sat down at the kitchen table and scrolled through his Instagram feed. He noticed he had a new follow request and checked to see who it was from.

@jenny.keller

Of course, it was his mom using her maiden name. He clicked on her profile and scrolled through it. He paused on a picture of her and her new fiancé and his kids. He sighed when he looked at them. They were a perfect cookie cutter family. She seemed happy, granted she also appeared happy around him and his dad despite never really being so. He kept scrolling and saw a picture of his mom in a cocktail dress with the caption "Girls Night!" Now that made him lose his appetite. He put his half eaten bowl of pasta in the sink before heading to his room. He plugged in his phone and send a quick goodnight text to Michael. A few seconds later he got one back, which made him smile widely. Although the day had been shit, he could always count on Michael to cheer him up. He laid down and closed his eyes, drifting to sleep.

He felt a sharp pain in his head. "Stand up straight." He heard her voice hiss. He looked up to see his mom standing above him. "God, you're such a disappointment." Then he looked to his right and was face to face with the SQUIP. "Everything about you makes me want to die." Then he felt his phone buzzed and looked down to see a million text messages calling him the f slur and telling him to kill himself. "I hate you." He felt himself freeze. Michael hated him. He looked up and saw Michael sneering down at him. "I never loved you, you're worthless." Michael began to laugh manically as he and the other continued to belittle Jeremy.

Jeremy woke up in a cold sweat. It was just a dream. He couldn't breathe. He reached for his phone, disregarding the fact that it was one am and texted Michael, begging him to come over.

About five minutes later, Michael burst through the door to find Jeremy sitting on his bed, still in shock. Michael almost sat down on the bed, but instead let out a small gasp followed by, "oh, Jeremy." It was then that Jeremy realized in the midst of his horror he had lost control of his bladder. Mortified he brought his soaked knees up to his chest, and quietly sobbed into them.

"Hey, it's ok baby boy, let's get you into a nice, hot bath? How does that sound?" Michael rubbed Jeremy's back carefully.

"O-ok. I'm so s-s-orry Mikey." He cried out helplessly. Luckily, his dad had the night shift tonight, he would just about die if anyone else found out.

"It's ok, Jer, really. Now let me carry you to the bathroom." Michael gently lifted Jeremy up, not caring how wet he was, and carefully brought him to the bathroom. Once they arrived he gently sat Jeremy on the toilet seat and began to undress him. At first Jeremy pulled away. "Relax angel, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"B-b-bra stays on, p-p-please." Jeremy stuttered out. Michael just nodding as he finishing undressing Jeremy minus his sports bra, and placed him in the bath.

"Just say Heere, no pun intended, while I wash the sheets and our clothes. I'll be back in like 15 minutes with fresh clothes, ok?"

Jeremy nodded, feeling too overwhelmed to talk. This had to have been the absolute longest day of his life. He grabbed his Irish Springs soap and put it on his loofa, rubbing it gently on himself. After cleaning up, he gently got out of the bath, and wrapped the fluffiest towel he could find around his body. He walked back into the bedroom to find Michael putting clean super Mario bedsheets from when they were little on his bed. "Only ones I could find." Was his response as to why he chose them.

After helping Jeremy dress, Michael laid down on Jeremy's bed and cuddled him as the pair drifted to sleep together, safe in the others embrace.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made the Instagram so you can follow my updates and when I post chapters their @doesgeorgeisgayao3
> 
> Also in the first work of this series, Michael and Jeremy never went all the way on homecoming night, but they saw each other naked(Jeremy in his binder) for the first time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm sure you've been wondering who's been leaving you all those notes and text messages. It's been me, but I can't tell you exactly who I am. That would ruin all the fun."

Jeremy felt his face flush as he chatted with Michael while they walked down the crowded Middleborough High School hallways. It has been a few days since that night and he still was mortified around Michael, despite Michael doing everything possible to make him feel better about it. Thank god the school day was finally over and there was no rehearsal that night. A rehearsal free Friday night meant family dinner night for Jeremy and his dad, since his day had the day shift on most Fridays. After the long tiring week, Jeremy's only desire was to eat too much food and watch some movie him and his dad have been dying to see until he got so tired he could barely keep his eyes open.

 

"You sure you don't want a ride home?" Michael asked him one more time as he climbed into his cruiser.

 

"Nah, I'm good." Jeremy reassured his boyfriend once more. "It's an oddly beautiful day out and I could use a little fresh air." 

 

"Alright, suit yourself." Michael shrugged and closed the door of his car, before rolling down the window. "You coming over tomorrow for lunch?"

 

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

 

"Dude, it's lunch."

 

"With you."

 

Michael blushed heavily. "Bye, Jeremy." He called out as he obnoxiously honked his horn and blew too many kisses Jeremy's way.

 

"Bye, Michael." Jeremy responded before turning and walking in the other direction towards his house. He took a deep breath of fresh air, hoping to clear his head on the long walk home. 

 

After about ten minutes of peaceful walking he heard a voice behind him. "Well, if it isn't Jeremy Heere, actually without his boyfriend for once in his life." Jeremy gripped his backpack straps tight, quickening his pace, praying whoever was behind him would just leave him alone. "I'm sure you've been wondering who's been leaving you all those notes and text messages. It's been me, but I can't tell you exactly who I am. That would ruin all the fun." 

 

Jeremy swiftly turned around to reveal a boy (most likely) in a Halloween mask and a beanie. Through the mask were a pair of piercingly bright blue eyes. The boy took a few steps closer before grabbing Jeremy backpack and throwing it off to the side. Then he shoved Jeremy, causing him to hit the ground hard. "What do you have under that shirt Jeremy?" 

 

Jeremy heart rate increased, his breathing becoming heavy very quickly. He couldn't possible know? Could he? 

 

"Take it off, Heere."

 

"No." Jeremy said sharply, feeling tears well up in his eyes. 

 

"I said, TAKE IT OFF, HEERE." The boy was now furious. He reached down to pull Jeremy's shirt off himself, but Jeremy had his hands gripped on it so tight, it was impossible to remove. The attacker then lifted his foot and stomped on Jeremy's thigh so hard that Jeremy removed his hands from his shirt to bring them to his now very bruised thigh. This allowed the boy to pull Jeremy's shirt off, revealing his binder.

 

"I knew I felt something when I pushed you to the ground."

 

At this point Jeremy was sobbing desperately trying to cover his chest with his arms. 

 

"Take your arms off your chest or I'll stomp on them too." The teen ordered.

 

Jeremy quickly obliged and slowly moved his arms off of his chest, sobbing and exposed. 

 

His attacker took a picture and then grabbed him by the binder, pulling him up to eye level. "We're going to play a little game. You do everything I say, and this picture gets deleted after three tasks. You don't complete these tasks, and this picture gets sent to everyone at school, and hung up on every wall. You don't want that, do you Jeremy?"

 

"No." Jeremy whimpered quietly.

 

"Good. You'll get your first task tonight. Make sure you follow it completely or else, freak.” The boy dropped Jeremy and his shirt on the ground, before hastily leaving the scene.

 

Jeremy sat up and quickly pulled on his shirt, and hugged his knees to his chest, sobbing. Too many thoughts were racing through his head and he was too overwhelmed to process any of them. After about thirty more minutes of crying and calming down, he checked his phone and saw the time time was already 3:45. He should’ve been home fifteen minutes ago. He also saw that he had four missed calls from his dad. He grabbed his backpack from the ground, swung it onto his shoulder and took off towards home, as quickly as he could and completely on edge.

 

\---

 

“Where have you been?” Jeremy’s dad exclaimed when Jeremy walked in the door at 4:15, almost an hour later than he should have been home.

 

“I was at Michael’s house when I remembered I was supposed to come home today, sorry.” Jeremy muttered, still in a slight daze from the previous events.

 

“You okay, kiddo?” Jeremy’s dad stared at his son with concern.

 

“Yeah, fine, it’s just been a really long week.” Jeremy sighed.

 

“Alright, well I ordered a pizza and rented Spider-Man Homecoming, because I know how much you loved that movie when you saw it with Michael and how you’ve been begging me to watch it since it came out, so we’ll eat and watch at 5:00, sound good?”

 

“Perfect.” Jeremy shot his dad a fake smile before going into his room and laying down on his bed. He stared at his ceiling and tried to comprehend everything that took place in the last few hours. Three tasks? When was his name chosen from the Goblet of Fire? He felt a dull ache in his ribs, and he suddenly realized he’s been binding since he woke up and it probably wasn’t the best thing for his chest to keep it bound for that long. He slowly sat up and checked the time. 4:50. How did more than a half an hour go by already? Guess he was thinking longer than he thought he was. He slowly sat up and peeled off his sweaty t-shirt and binder that both definitely needed to be washed. He threw his shirt in the hamper and set his binder on his dresser to be hand-washed later. He grabbed his most comfortable sports bra and pulled it over his head, along with one of his few hoodies. He slipped on his slippers and walked into his living room to see his dad paying the pizza guy. He grabbed a plate and a can of Pepsi from the kitchen, bringing them over to his spot on the couch.

 

“Set up the movie, sport. I’ll bring you the food. How many slices you want?”

 

“Three.” Jeremy had just then realized he ate very little the whole day.

 

“Wow, eating a lot tonight Jer.” Mr. Heere laughed. He knew his son rarely ate a lot of food, so this was a rare occurrence.

 

“I’m just really hungry.” Jeremy laughed along with his dad, who handed him his food and sat next to him on the couch. Jeremy pressed play on the movie and him and his dad were ready to laugh and eat for the next two hours.

 

\--

Jeremy yawned as the end credits of the movie played. He gave his dad a goodnight hug before heading back to his room. He grabbed his phone to send Michael a goodnight text, but was instead met with a text by an unknown number.

 

_ UnknownNumber: Alright, here’s your first task: _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for almost a month without updates! I know I'm just repeating myself, but my school show closed last week and I've been in study mode for my AP exam ever since. It's on May 17th *cue my internal screaming* but after it's over I promise I'll update more consistently. But, due to my extreme need to study, I probably won't post until then, for updates make sure to follow doesgeorgeisgayao3 on instagram <3
> 
> And the reason Jeremy is so scared of people knowing he's trans is because he transitioned sometime in elementary school when no one really knew who he was, so most people at school don't know about him being trans. (The only people who do know are Michael, Christine, and Jenna)He's afraid that if people find out they will a). hate and bully him even more, b).stop respecting him, and c). view him and treat him like the SQUIP did. Although these things may seem kind of irrational Jeremy most likely has anxiety (whether it developed after the SQUIP or he had it all along) so that blows everything in his life way out of proportion.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He gulped as he clicked the download button on the image underneath the text. The image that was opened was...odd to say the least.

Jeremy felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach. What could the first task possibly be? He almost forgot about the boy while hanging out with his dad, but he hadn’t entirely forgotten what he said. He gulped as he clicked the download button on the image underneath the text. The image that was opened was...odd to say the least. It was a newspaper letter written note (I guess this bully is really extra) that said, “Send me pictures of you in the play you were in over the summer. Make sure you include every important scene.” Jeremy was very surprised. Why would this bully ask him to send him pictures of the school’s summer production of The Music Man? However, he just shrugged it off, thinking the bully was some sort of weirdo with a theater fetish. He opened his phone notes and made a list of the most important scenes. He attached the photos and put his phone on the charger, laying in his bed and closing his eyes for a much-needed rest.

***

Jeremy woke up the next morning and checked the time. 10:45. Crap. He had to be at Michaels for lunch in fifteen minutes. He jumped out of bed, raced to the closet, threw on an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and reached for his phone to text Michael, telling him he’d be a few minutes late.

But when he unlocked his phone, he saw that his second task was ready.

UnknownNumber: Task 2: Cancel your plans with Michael today.

That’s odd, Jeremy thought. Why would he just want me to randomly cancel plans fifteen minutes before? This task had nothing to do with the first one. What did this guy want from him? Nevertheless, Jeremy dialed Michael’s number.

“What’s up Jer?”

“I just wanted to tell you I can’t make it to our lunch date today, sorry.”

“Dude?” Michael sounded upset. Jeremy cringed. “Why do you have to cancel? I’ve already planned out our gourmet meal of grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“I’m really, really sorry.” Jeremy apologized. He really did feel bad. “It’s just…” Jeremy’s voice trailed off. He was a terrible liar, despite being a decent actor. “I’m not feeling too good.”

“Wait you’re sick. I’m grabbing my keys and getting over there right now.” Michael yelled. Jeremy could hear rustling and Michael saying goodbye to his moms in the background.

“No!...um..I mean no, you don’t have to come over. It’s really no big deal.”

“Of course it’s a big deal, you like barely ever get sick.”  
“Well I’m not sick I just…” Think quickly Heere, Jeremy told himself. What’s the one thing about Jeremy that Michael knows absolutely nothing about. “Got a visitor this morning.” Jeremy tried his best to lie through his teeth, and prayed Michael didn’t pay too much attention to what week it was.

“A visitor? When you’re sick? Who is it?”

“Not that kind of visitor Mikey. You know the one that comes once a month.” Jeremy cringed at his own words, there was no way in hell Michael would actually fall for this…

“Oh, shit Jer, I’m so sorry.” Michael exclaimed. Jeremy stifled a giggle. “Seriously, you know I’m oblivious, want me to bring you some food or video games or something? Or just be emotional support? Or give you the best cuddles?”

“Actually Mike, I’m not feeling too great and would rather just be alone right now. I love you, but it’s just, uh...hormones and shit.”

“Ok, well if you need anything don’t hesitate to call or even just come over. I’m here for you!”

“Alright, bye babe.” Jeremy hung up the phone and had to shove his pillow in his face to hold back his giggles. He could not believe Michael actually fell for that.

He sat up and stretched, walking to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. He expected to see his dad in the kitchen but was greeted with a note on the fridge instead.

Went out to breakfast with Claire. I'll be back around noon.

Awesome, house to himself. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and a bowl of his favorite cereal (aka the only kind of cereal he would eat) and sat down at the table. Breakfast at 11:00 may be crazy for some people, but for a teenage boy with an awful sleep schedule, it was pretty normal. Jeremy sighed when he thought about how boring the day was going to be without Michael. What would he do all by himself? He wasn’t really in the mood for his normal home alone (or when his dad was asleep) “ritual”. The only thing he really had for homework was to catch up on history topics, and he had already slept so he wasn’t really that tired. So, after placing his plate in the sink and recycling his empty water bottle, he decided to do what any other educated theater kid would do when home alone. Watch bootlegs while dramatically singing along and performing all the dance moves. 

He walked into his room and turned on his Switch, opening up the youtube app. After five minutes of scrolling he decided to just watch Newsies on netflix (we love a law abiding shishter). During a very dramatic rendition of the Santa Fe, Jeremy heard laughter from behind his door. He immediately paused the TV and opened his door to find his dad and his girlfriend giggling quietly in the living room. Jeremy felt his face flush. Were they laughing at him? Mr. Heere caught sight of his son in the hallway and gestured for Jeremy to come over, face still bright red. “Y-you didn’t h-hear that d-did you?” Jeremy stuttered out through his embarrassment. 

Mr. Heere laughed once more, “You sounded great son.’ 

Jeremy face flushed. “Sorry I was so loud, I wasn’t paying attention to the time.”

“I’m just glad you’re not being loud with...other activities.”

“dAD!” Jeremy screeched. He could not believe his dad would bring up that in front of his girlfriend. But Claire only chuckled, obviously not as phased as Jeremy was by the comment.

After all three calmed down, Mr. Heere suddenly remembered why he brought his girlfriend home in the first place.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at Michael’s today.” He questioned.

“Oh, yeah, I was supposed to but I wasn’t feeling good this morning so I had to cancel. I feel better now, though.”

“Ok kiddo, just make sure you tell me if you need anything. I can run out to the store and get you some medicine if you need it.”

“Ok, thanks dad. I’m going to go back to my room and lay down.” Jeremy said, awkwardly excusing himself before heading back to his room. He grabbed the remote and was about to press play when he received his third task.

Task Three: Send me a picture of your last handwritten essay

Ok, this is just completely weird now, Jeremy thought to himself. What kind of bully was this? But like all the others times, he just went along with it and sent the picture. Afterwards he pressed play and continued watching Newsies, and that was how he would spend the rest of the night, unbeknownst to him that those three seemingly simple tasks would cause him the worst week of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me with another apology about inactivity? It's more likely than you think. Just to fill everyone in on my inactivity (which will hopefully be over now :) ) I want to explain my absence. As previously mentioned I had my AP exam on May 17th. The day after I suffered a huge loss of someone very, very close to me. Since then I've been trying to deal, and have found a great group of support in all of my friends. Now that I'm finally feeling better and school is winding down it's time for more uploads! Hopefully the next chapter will be up by the end of the week. Love you all and thanks for all of your A M A Z I N G support <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t fucking call me that!” Michael screamed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Possible TW: Vomit

Jeremy pulled his backpack straps on tighter as he rocked back and forth on his heels, waiting for Michael to come pick him up. He checks his phone again. 7:55. School starts in fifteen minutes and Michael still wasn’t here. Where could he possibly be? He dials Michael’s number for the third time, but once again it goes straight to voicemail. Jeremy groaned as he pocketed his phone and weighed his options. Either stay here and pray Michael shows up within the next couple of minutes, or book it to school and pray he can run that fast. Jeremy decided the latter option would have to do, so he took off down the street towards the school. 

After about ten minutes of awkward running (headcanon jeremy runs like a gazelle because he has long skinny legs) he finally arrived at school. He took a few seconds to catch his breath before he walked inside, trying to find his Riend. When he approached his locker he saw that Michael wasn’t there. He also noticed lots of people giving him really dirty looks. Weird. He tries to convince himself that Michael is just sick and isn’t allowed to have his phone or is just sleeping in and he can go and visit him later, but something felt really really off about this entire situation. He grabbed all of the books he needed for first and second block, shoved them into his backpack, slung it around his shoulder and headed into his classroom. 

*you already know it isn’t a story by me unless there’s an obscene amount of time skips*

As lunchtime approached Jeremy stared at the clock. He saw Michael between classes and tried to call out to him, but Michael either didn’t hear him, or was ignoring him. He really hoped for the first option. He was drawn out of his head by the loud blaring of the bell signaling the lunch period. He quickly gathered his books and ran out the door to find Michael. As he walked down the hallway he spotted a familiar red sweatshirt. 

“Michael!” Jeremy yelled, running up to his boyfriend, trying to catch up with him. Michael turned around to face him, and that’s when Jeremy saw his messy hair and blood-shot eyes. “Oh my god, Micah what’s wrong-”

“Don’t fucking call me that!” Michael screamed, attracting the attention of many people nearby. 

“Woah, what the-”

“Don’t act so innocent Jeremy.” Michael spat. 

“Michael, whatever I did I didn’t mean to-”

“JUST FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!” Michael growled harshly. All of a sudden a boy came up and put his arm around Michael.

“Come on Michael, we don’t have time for people like him. Oh, and Jeremy…”

The boy turned around and Jeremy was greeted with a pair of strikingly bright blue eyes. Shit.  
“Stay the fuck away from my boyfriend.” He finished, swiftly turning around and escorting Michael out of the room.

Jeremy felt like he was drowning. His heart was pounding so incredibly fast he thought it was going to explode. He pushed past the crowd that had formed, each person he brushed against feeling like a million shocks being sent through his body. He felt bile rise in his throat as he ran into the bathroom, bumping into two boys, shoving open a stall door, falling to his knees, and losing the small amount of food he had in his body. As he continued to dry heave he heard a voice from behind say, “Jeremy? You good, dude?” He recognized the voice as that of Rich Goranski. The two became civil after the play, but the pair weren’t exactly friends. 

“Why are you talking to him Rich?” Jake whispered. “You know what he did to Michael.”

Jeremy let out a small sob when he heard Michael’s name. He had finished vomiting and carefully stood up, smoothing out his clothing. He turned around to Jake and asked him the question that he absolutely needed to know the answer too. 

“What did I do to Michael?” Jeremy spat, but his voice was far too weak to have any edge to it. 

“How do you not know that you cheated on your boyfriend?” Jake looked dumbfounded. “Dude, there’s evidence everywhere.” He pulled out his phone and showed Jeremy. “Look, here’s a picture of you kissing Christine at the park on Saturday. And here’s a picture of the love note you wrote to her.”

Jeremy couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “But I never did those things-” Jeremy cut himself off when the realization hit him like an 18-wheeler. 

The pictures of the play. The boy was able to manipulate and photoshop the picture of his kiss scene into a picture of him kissing Christine at the park.

Cancelling the plans. Of course Michael would be hurt to know that Jeremy was cancelling on him to go out with Christine. 

The essay. The perfect way to forge a letter is to see the person’s handwriting upfront. 

It all added up. It all made sense.

With his newfound realization also came a newfound confidence.

“Who posted all of this?” Jeremy questioned staring both Jake and Rich up and down.

“I don’t know, some nerd from Academic Decathlon I think.” Rich said nonchalantly.

“Of course, it had to be someone close to Michael.” Jeremy whispered under his breath.

“Who had to be someone close to Michael?” Jake asked, giving Jeremy an odd look.

“I’ll fill you both in soon. But first I need to ask a favor.” 

“Oh, yeah? And what’s in it for us?” Jeremy had to admit, Rich was pretty intimidating despite his height, but Jeremy was also intimidating when he was determined, and boy was he determined. 

“I’ll continue to keep your little fling a secret.” Jeremy looked at the boys surprised expressions. “Don’t act so dumb, I was in the bathroom during your makeout session in the middle of homecoming.”

“So what’s the favor?” Jake asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

“I need you two, Brooke and Chloe at my house tonight at 7:00.” Jeremy said, grabbing his things and heading out the door.

“For what?” Rich called after him.

“We’re going to uncover that nerd’s web of lies.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for more frequent updates! Summer vacation has started!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What job?” Christine inquired.
> 
> “Framing the framer.” Jeremy replied effortlessly.

Jeremy walked into his room, seven cans of soda in hand, two bags of chips, and a look of determination on his face. He opened both bags, set a drink in front of each person, and stared down at the six confused people seated before him. Surprisingly, he wasn’t nervous in front of them, despite barely knowing four out of the six. Maybe it was his intense rage that gave him this newfound confidence. Whatever it was, it sure made him ready for what he was about to face.

 

“I’m sure you’re all wondering why I called you in.”

 

“Obviously.” Chloe drawled, giving Jeremy a semi-nasty look. “This is  _ not _ how I wanted to spend my Monday night.”

 

“Chlo, you were just going to have a lazy day, you told me that.” Brooke giggled at her girlfriend. 

 

“Oh shut up, Brooke.” Chloe whined, shoving her girlfriend, causing more giggles to fall from her.

 

Jeremy felt his heart sink at the sight of them. That used to be him and Michael. But that’s why they were here. To fix that. 

 

“As I was saying, I called you all here because I need your help with something. I did not cheat on Michael, I was framed. Because you guys have a very...interesting skill set, I figured you would be the best at the job.”

 

“What job?” Christine inquired.

 

“Framing the framer.” Jeremy replied effortlessly.

 

“Brooke and Chloe. You two know everything about everyone. And you’re both pretty damn observant. Find out who this guy is and what he’s been up to recently. The only things we have so far are that he has blinding blue eyes and is on the Aca Deca team.” With that small amount of information, the girls immediately went to work, typing away on their phones and looking for information.

 

“Jenna. You’re incredible with computers and digging up dirt. Try to find out as much as you can about him.”

 

“Jer, do you have anything that he might have sent you? Like a text or something?”

 

“Uh, yeah.” He grabbed his phone and opened the text message, handing it to Jenna.

 

“Oh my  _ god, _ hun, some of these are awful slurs. Are you okay?”

 

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” Jeremy shrugged it off.  He couldn’t tell her the way these words have tormented him. That would probably kill him. No. It would definitely kill him. 

 

She walked up to him and whispered in his ear, “Jeremy, please, let me stay the night after everyone leaves. You’re clearly dealing with a lot of emotions and need someone to vent to right now. I’m always here for ya, Heere.” 

 

Jeremy smiled at her. “Thanks, Jen. Now get tracking that number. And trying finding his school record while you’re at it.”

 

“Whatever you say, Captain.” Jeremy let out an adorable laugh that was usually reserved for Michael, but quickly composed himself and stared at Christine. 

 

“Give me a good alibi to show Michael we couldn’t have possibly been together on Saturday.”

 

“I was in the city with my theatre camp friends seeing “The Band’s Visit”. I can get my ticket, playbill, and pictures from show.”

 

“Awesome! Now go and help Jenna dig up dirt. You guys can use my computer.” She salueted him and ran over to Jenna, sitting next to her and helping her track the phone number.

 

“Jake. You’re involved in literally every club at school. And anything you aren’t in you know someone who is. See if he is a member of any club that involves things like photoshop and forgery.” 

 

“But we still don’t know who he is.” Jake responded.

 

“Yeah we do.” Chloe butt in, eyes still staring at her phone screen. “James Moore. Junior. Known by his classmates for hacking the administrator servers constantly. Always in trouble with someone or something.” She glanced up at Jeremy. 

 

“Any luck with the phone number?” Jeremy questioned, desperately hoping for a match or confirmation that this is their guy.

 

“Nothing. Looks like he used a burner.”

 

“Damn. He’s good.” Rich laughed from across the room, earning rude looks from the others in the room.

 

“Wait. This doesn’t add up. Why would you do what he said Jeremy? If you didn’t know who he was, why did you listen?” Brooke inquired.

 

Jeremy froze. How could he tell them? None of them knew. “He..um...threatened to tell the whole school a personal secret of mine if I didn’t listen. He even got photographic proof. I was too scared to not listen to him.”

 

“So what’s the secret?” Chloe quickly burst out, hoping for some good gossip, not even thinking of how rude she must have sounded.   
  


“I already told you, it’s personal. Please don’t ask me about it.”

 

“Was it a picture of you jerking it?” Rich said, laughing hysterically.

 

“nO!” Jeremy voiced cracked loudly making everyone else in the room laugh at him. “Just leave it.  _ Please.” _  Everyone in the room nodded. They had had their fun, but now it was time to get back to business. 

 

“Rich. I need your help planning what to say to Michael. You can intimidate James if needed, and help me with I need to say.”

 

“Awesome tall ass.”  Jeremy moved to sit by Rich, beginning to formulate their plan.

 

By 8:30, they had found out a few things and decided to compile all of their information:

His name was James Moore.

He was a junior, 17 years old.

Involved in Academic Decathlon and AV Club.

Detention for forging a parent’s signature.

A+ in graphic design class.

Known for hacking.

 

“We definitely got our guy. This has to be him. If we just show Micah this evidence he has to listen to me. He’ll understand. He has to.” Jeremy gave the others a hopeful look, but they all looked at him oddly.

 

“Micah?” Chloe laughed.

 

“Shut up! I meant Michael.” Jeremy squeaked looking at his feet.

 

“It’ll be good Jer, he’ll believe you.” Christine comforted.

 

“Alright, well we’ll put this plan into action tomorrow. Later guys.” Jake stood waiting for Rich to gather his things. He was soon followed by Brooke, Chloe, and Christine, all of them saying goodbye and wishing Jeremy luck tomorrow as they left.

 

“Come sit with me, love.” Jenna spoke, patting the spot on the bed next to her. Jeremy hesitantly walked over and sat. “Spill everything. Start from the beginning.”

 

“Ok, well, it must have started right after we came out. We woke up the next morning together, ate breakfast, and then his moms wanted him home so he kissed me goodbye and left. A little bit later, I started getting awful texts from that number about how disgusting I was for dating Michael, telling me I should just kill myself.” Jeremy took in a shaky breath, feeling the tears begin to form in his eyes.

 

“You’re okay, just keep going.” Jenna soothed, rubbing circles into Jeremy’s back.

 

“And then last Monday happened. I got into a fight with Michael, as you know, but it was actually about me not wanting to wear his sweatshirt because I was too afraid of what that person would say to me. I had also gotten an email from my mom,” Jeremy cringed when he called her that. He  _ hated _ calling her that, “asking me to come spend Thanksgiving with her new family, which sucked because it was like I didn’t even matter to her, like she was just doing it to make me feel bad. That night I came home from rehearsal to find my dad’s new girlfriend at the table. I got into a huge fight with him and ending up sobbing  afterwards in my room to him. I didn’t tell him about James though, I was too scared still. After that I ate dinner and went to bed, only to have a horrific nightmare about Michael not loving me. I called him over and ended up mortifying myself even more because I...nevermind that’s not important.”

 

“What? Were you ok?” Genuine concern filled Jenna’s eyes as she searched Jeremy’s face for an answer.

 

“No, Jen, I promise I was fine it’s just incredibly embarrassing and I really don’t want to talk about it.” She nodded and let him continue as she kept soothing him by rubbing his back. “The rest of the week was boring, but not bad, kept getting those texts though, along with a few notes on my locker. The worst thing happened on Friday. James jumped me on my way home and pushed be to the ground. He must have felt my binder through my shirt because he forcefully made me take it off. He then took a picture of me and threatened to tell the whole school and post it everywhere if I didn’t do exactly what he said. I got my first task that night and the next two in the morning. And you know the rest.”

 

“God, Jerry, that’s awful. I’m so, so sorry. I promise I’ll kill this guy for you tomorrow.”

 

“I just can’t stand the fact that he’s with Michael. I can’t deal with that. It hurts so bad.” He began sobbing again and was quickly pulled into Jenna’s chest. 

 

“Tomorrow Jeremy. We’ll get him tomorrow. He’ll be the one sobbing after we’re done with him. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will take a slightly different route than expected, but I know you guys will love it


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James was here. Jeremy was gone.

Michael received a text early Monday morning.

 

_ JamesM: Dude, I hate to be the one to break this to you but you need to find out somehow.  _

 

The text was followed by a link to James’ Instagram page. Michael clicked the link and could not believe his eyes. On the screen was a picture of his boyfriend kissing Christine and the time stamp on the photo showed it was taken Saturday, the day Jeremy cancelled on him. He scrolled to the right and was greeted by a love letter written for Christine in Jeremy’s handwriting. Michael couldn’t breathe. He tried to but his eyes burned, his chest was tight, and he was having a difficult time standing upright. He sat down on his bed and continued to hyperventilate, placing his head in his hands. This couldn’t be happening. Jeremy  _ promised  _ he’d never leave him again, and there he goes leaving the loser that was Michael Mell to wallow in the grief of the boyfriend he thought loved him. But it was all just a game, a game that wasn’t planned by the Squip this time. Oh no, this time Jeremy orchestrated the entire ordeal, the ordeal that made every bone in his body feel like they were filled with sand and and made his lungs close up and eyes fill up with tears and made his entire body tremble and made him spiral into a panic attack. He heard a soft knock at his door. 

 

“Hey, Mike it’s me. James. I figured you wouldn’t take this too well so I decided to come over and help you get ready for school.”

 

Oh right school. That thing he was required to go to everyday by the state so he could learn, but so far the only thing he’d learned that had any lasting impact was what it felt like to have your heart snapped in half and sewn back together just to have it stomped on again by the same fucking person. This wonderful thing began in an hour and Michael had no intention of showing his face. 

 

“Go away I’m not going.” Michael spat.

 

James opened his door and walked in. Michael jumped and started vigorously wiping away his tears. James sighed and sat on the bed next to Michael, placing a soft arm around his waist. “Oh Michael, it’s ok. You’re ok. We need to go to school today and show Jeremy that you are fine without him. That you’ve already moved on too.”

 

“What?” Michael sat on his bed dumbfounded. He had not moved on. He might never move on. 

 

“I know you need time to heal, but I can help you. Just let me in, please.” James cooed, placing his free hand on Michael’s cheek.

 

Michael didn’t know what he was doing or thinking in that moment, but something made him connect their lips. Whether it was his intense feelings of hate towards the man he once loved, or the extreme need to feel wanted he didn’t know but what he did know was that he would be much happier pressing his lips to Jeremy than James. But Jeremy was gone, and James was here. So what was he supposed to do? James deepened the kiss, and soon the two were making out on Michael’s bed. After a few minutes passed the pair pulled back from each other to get air. 

 

“Come on Mell, let’s get you dressed so we can head to school.” 

 

After eating, dressing and brushing hair and teeth, the Michael left the house with James in tow. passing the cruiser and leaving it in the driveway for the first school day since he got it, and climbed into the passenger side of James’ Volvo. The ride to school was silent. Michael wouldn’t call it uncomfortable but he also found many stark differences between James and Jeremy. The biggest being James was here and Jeremy was gone.

 

——

 

The school day caused much stress for Michael. The emotional strain and his feelings of abandonment grew worse as he realized the entire school knew. And Jeremy chasing him down the hallway trying to get his attention didn’t help. But James came to his rescue. Because James was here, and Jeremy was still gone. Most likely forever after he yelled at him like he did. No wonder Michael wasn’t enough for Jeremy. He was never good enough for anyone or anything. But he strives to be good enough for James. Because James would always be there, or at least that’s what he told him. He felt a connection with James despite them only having gotten together that morning. He knew James cared for him. Sure, Michael didn’t find James attractive, or even that friendly but Michael knew one thing for sure. James was here. Jeremy was gone.

 

—

 

James smirked as Michael lay asleep in his arms. He finally got the one thing he wanted, the one thing he thought was out of reach. But a genius like himself always finds a way. This began with a strong hatred for a certain thin boy with curly brown hair and soft freckles dotting his dainty face. A boy who had everything he didn’t. He began to torment the boy, posting crude notes on his locker and sending him crude texts. But he soon realized the reason behind the hatred. His desire for the boy’s perfect boyfriend, Michael Mell, so he began to center his comments around how the boy focused on Michael too much and how he was needy and dependent. Until the day he cornered the boy on the street and found his dirty little secret. The “boy” was lying to the world. Telling everyone she wasn’t what she really was. 

A girl. So he decided to use this new found secret to bait her into doing his dirty work. And now he lay with the perfect boy in his arms. He smiled as he stared down at him. He was here. Jeremy was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After many months without posting, I decided to finally finish this book. The next chapter will be the last. I hope you guys liked this look into Michael and James.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Spread this around the school and Jeremy’s life is for sure ruined.”

Jeremy woke up bright and early the next morning, ready to win back his boyfriend. As he began to dress himself for the day the endless possibilities of what could happen began to fly through his head. He just really hoped their plan would work so he could be back with his boyfriend as quickly as possible. He walked into the kitchen, grabbing a banana and a water, yelled a quick goodbye to his dad and headed out the door to go meet Rich in the school parking lot. They were going to get there early so Rich could distract James as he was walking in so Jeremy could talk to Michael.

After about thirty minutes of slow, thoughtful walking, Jeremy saw Rich’s beat-up truck in the school’s parking lot. He approached the car and knocked on the door to wake Rich up from the nap he appeared to be taking. The smaller boy shot up, looking confused, but then he saw Jeremy and quickly let him into the vehicle.

“You ready?” Rich inquired, staring at Jeremy who looked slightly ill.

Jeremy sighed. “I mean, I guess so. Is anyone really ever ready for anything.” He leaned his head against the back seat and closed his eyes.

“Don’t you dare get all existential on me. What happened to the confident Jeremy who was ready to get his boyfriend back? You got this, our plan is foolproof, stop doubting my distracting abilities.”

“I’m not doubting you,” Jeremy groaned, sitting up and placing his hand on his forehead. “I just don’t know how I’m going to get Michael to talk to me.”

“Just be yourself.” Rich said, the usually brash teen falling into sincerity. “I know I don’t really know you guys too well, but he seems to really like you. And sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go for it. Just ignore your fears and push through.”

Jeremy nodded. Rich was right. He would regret this if he didn’t go through with it. “Thanks Rich, it means a lot.”

“You can return the favor by never telling anyone that I was nice to you.”

“Works for me.”

About 10 minutes later a small, distinguishable PT Cruiser pulled into the school’s parking lot. Out came Michael with James attached to his hip just as suspected. Rich jumped out and ran up to them.

“James!” He yelled, sprinting toward the boys.

“What do you want Goranski?” James snarled, pulling Michael closer to him. Jeremy grimaced.

“I really need your help, my dad says he’ll take away my car if I fail my pre-calc test, and I definitely flunked it so I need your amazing hacking schools to help me change my grade.”

James’s huge ego immediately kicked in as he agreed. “Sorry Mike, I’ll be back in a second I promise.” And then the two were heading into the school.

Jeremy approached Michael as calmly as he could. “Michael I need to talk to you.” He begged as his ex turned around and glared at him.

“I hate you, leave me alone.” He began to walk toward the school.

Those words really stung, but Jeremy knew Michael was just hurt so he persisted. “Mike, please, Christine was in New York seeing the Band’s Visit that day, look!” He showed Michael the evidence of a picture with a timestamp and her ticket but he just scoffed. “You probably just edited it.”

“Oh yeah? Look at these texts from your ‘boyfriend’ James.”

He showed Michael the texts and he could tell Michael was faltering. “You can’t prove those are from James.” Michael said.

“It all makes sense Mike!” Jeremy yelled, exasperated. “He asked for pictures so he could edit them, told me to cancel my plans so I had no alibi, and asked for an essay so he could forge my writing. Plus he’s taken classes on Photoshop and he’s known for hacking. You can’t deny this Micah, please, you have to believe me. I love you!”

Michael began to cry. Jeremy stood there dumbfounded until Michael pulled him into a hug and began to cry into his shoulder. He sobbed out apologies to Jeremy and begged him for forgiveness. Jeremy rubbed his back and whispered sweet condolences in his ear. “I know, you’re ok, I’m not mad, I’ve hurt you before and I know what it feels like to be abandoned and the trauma it can cause. But I need you to stay with me. You can’t just break up with James. Keep up this dating thing with him at least until you can fix something for me.”

“Fix what?” Michael croaked, rubbing his eyes and pulling his face out of Jeremy’s neck.

“He has blackmail. That’s why all of this started. He took a picture of me in my binder, I’ll give you the full story later, but right now I need you to find his phone and delete that picture.”

“Alright, I can do it.” Michael agreed.

——

After a long day of pretending he still liked James, Michael sat on said boy’s bed after school just talking and laughing with him. He sighed as he sat up and pulled himself from James’ embrace. “I just wish there was someway to punish Jeremy for all of the things he did.” 

James laughed as he pulled out his phone and showed Michael a picture. “Look at this picture I took of the little bitch.” James laughed as he showed Michael the picture of Jeremy only clad in his binder. “Spread this around the school and Jeremy’s life is for sure ruined.”

“Is that the only copy of the photo you have?” Michael asked.

“Yeah, I was going to upload it to my computer, but I haven’t had the chance.”

“Can I get a closer look?” Michael said, inching closer to James. 

“Sure baby.” James purred, handing Michael the phone while kissing his neck. When Michael saw that James wasn’t paying attention he quickly deleted the photo.

“Alright, I have to go.” Michael said getting up and grabbing his bag.

“Why?” James inquired.

“My moms want me home for dinner and it’s almost 5:00”

“Alright. Bye baby.” James cooed giving Michael one last kiss. Michael awkwardly pulled away and grabbed his bag, leaving as quickly as possible.

-  
The next day at school. Michael and Jeremy walked into the principal's office hand in hand to report what James had done to Jeremy. James was expelled and sent to the school in the next town over within the week. That night, Michael held Jeremy in his lap while they watched reruns of the X Files. He kisses his boyfriend softly and held him close.

“I’m so glad we’re out.” Michael whispered.

Jeremy gave him a soft and genuine smile. “Me too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost one year later and it’s finally finished. Thanks to everyone who’s supported me from the beginning. Anyone who wants to talk, make requests, or just get story updates should follow my Instagram @lostinstardustao3 . I am so grateful for all of the love and support I’ve been shown throughout this fic. I’m not sure how active I’ll be, but I would like to start writing some oneshots more often, so just tell me what you want to see. And I hope everyone likes the name change! See you all in my next fic.
> 
> Love you guys!  
> \- Star

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment any constructive criticism, questions, requests, or positive comments please :)


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